Nik Nestoroff Archives - Page 4 of 9

August 3, 2021

Podium packed Weekend

KHS Pro MTB rider Nik Nestoroff on track for his race run at the third stop of the Northwest Cup in Montana.

KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton first place at the third stop of the Northwest Cup in Montana.

What a mega weekend of racing for the team this past weekend. We had all factory riders and most of our grassroots athletes all competing in different regions all on the same weekend.

KHS Pro MTB rider Luke Whitlock riding the freeride jumps at the Landslide Music Fest in Cedar City Utah

Starting off with factory rider Luke Whitlock and newest member to the grassroots program Dylan Cobern were both in Cedar City, UT at a mountain bike festival throwing down some big tricks and representing our freeride side of things at the highest level. Here’s what Luke Whitlock had to say “A music festival would be the last place you’d expect a mountain bike jam to come about, but that was not the case in Cedar City, UT at the Landslide Music Fest this past weekend.

KHS Pro MTB rider Dylan Cobern riding the freeride jumps at the Landslide Music Fest in Cedar City Utah

With expected crowds of upwards of 5000 people Dylan Cobern and I headed up north to Cedar City to put on a show for the people attending the event. While dealing with the crazy weather that Southern Utah has to offer this time of year, we were still able to throw down some solid tricks and whips for the crowd in between rainstorms. This event was unique and special to us because we were able to reach a completely different industry and group of people and introduce them to freeride mountain biking, which is really awesome and rewarding to see, especially since the spectators were very engaged!”

KHS Pro Mtb rider Naish Ulmar on the podium in first place at the second race of the Utah Gravity Series in Pomerelle Idaho.

Also, our other grassroots athlete Naish Ulmer was representing the team in the Utah/Idaho regional event coming away with double wins. Here’s what Naish had to say: “I raced the 2nd & 3rd stop of the Utah Gravity series in Pomerelle, ID. There was a double header race happening over the weekend and I was able to take both wins. I was super pumped to stay consistent and get the win for the team!”

KHS Pro Mtb rider Naish Ulmar on the podium in first place at the third race of the Utah Gravity Series in Pomerelle Idaho.

While the freeride lads were holding in down for the team it was Steven Walton who was representing the team at the Strait Acres Dual slalom event happening in Big Bear California. This event had some of the best American athletes competing for one of the best Spector races of the year! Qualifying was on Friday evening with Saturday evening being set for the finals. Steven would be going head-to-head to make it to the top spot. At the end of the evening, he would place a respectable top 20th finish.

KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton on the dual slalom course at the Strait Acres all mountain event in Big Bear California.

Sunday would be hosting the Pro men’s downhill race with some tough competition, basically all the top athletes competing in the Slalom race would be switching over to DH for Sunday. Steven would be racing the notorious famous DH track of Miracle Mile. This track has had some of the best DH riders from all the way back from the 80’s. Steven would give it 100% and cross the line in 2nd place!

KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton standing on the podium in second place at the Strait Acres all mountain event in Big Bear California.

All the way up in the Montana mountains you would find Nik Nestoroff and Kailey Skelton holding it down at the 3rd round of the Northwest Cup series! Nik and Kailey would be on the 4th consecutive race in a row keeping the focus sharp and race craft even sharper. This event brings some of the fastest racers from all around the West and Central areas. The athletes were really impressed with the track lay out and conditions they would be dealing with over the 3-day event. They would both be qualifying Saturday and racing finals Sunday. Qualifying would bring only the best results with both athletes taking the top spots. It would increase their pressure to lay it back down on Sunday’s finals and maintain the lead. Nik & Kailey would do just that and not let anything stray them from the wins! They would both have dominating race runs with 7-9 seconds leads on the completion.

KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton on track for her race run at the third stop of the Northwest Cup in Montana.

The team did very well overall this past weekend with getting 3 podium positions and setting themselves up to continue their success on the National round 2 in Vernon, NJ at the famous Mountain Creek bike park. All the racers will be flying out Tuesday and preparing for Sunday’s finals. Kailey is currently sitting in 2nd place overall in the women’s Downhill National series. Steven in 4^th and Nik in 5^th for the men’s Nationals overall. The team will be reporting soon from New Jersey woods!

KHS Pro MTB rider Nik Nestoroff first place at the third stop of the Northwest Cup in Montana.

July 26, 2021

Big Sky Enduro Round 2

KHS Pro MTB rider Nik Nestoroff on track for a practice run at the 2nd round of the Big Sky Montana Enduro series.

Big Sky Montana, Round 2 of the Big Mountain Enduro Series brought some of the best Enduro racers from the world (Richie Rude, Cody Kelley). The racers would have to ride 8 grueling stages throughout the Montana Mountains. They would be climbing over 5,500ft day 1 and 1,500ft day 2. The 8 different tracks were unique with all different types of conditions. From steep shoots, rock gardens, and natural fresh cut sections the 8 stages truly brought everything to the table condition wise.

KHS Pro MTB rider Nik Nestoroff on track at the 2nd round of the Big Sky Montana Enduro series.

Day 1 would start out with the first 4 stages; stage 1 was one of the longer and more physical tracks. Nik Nestoroff would drop into stage 1 and end up 14th place. Kailey Skelton would unfortunately have a massive crash in her stage 1 run and suffering a mild concussion which would force her to pull out of the remainder of the race and completely. Nik Nestoroff would carry on to stage 2 with the climb being difficult 1,200ft climb at a high altitude. After stage 2 he would pull some time back and move himself into 12th place going into stage 3. Stage 3 and 4 were also very physical tracks with times being over 5 minutes long. Nik’s consistency with during the day 1 stages would place him in 9th place going into Sunday’s day 2 stages.

Day 2 would be an exciting day for Nik with the tracks being more downhill oriented. He would fire off his first stage of the day with 7th place. Only 3 stages left, and Nik was really giving it his all to pull back time. Stage 6 would also be a great stage for him with a 4th place finish, and only 2 stages. All of the racers were really feeling the physicality on top of the long endurance days. Nik would go into stage 7 with a 5th place finish. The final stage would be the highlight of Nik’s weekend with a 2nd place stage finish. This was impressive as it was the most challenging and technical stage of the event. With all the times combined Nik would complete the race with an impressive 8th place overall.

Nik stated “It was a very successful weekend of learning more about Enduro Racing. You have to keep consistent and it’s a fine line of pushing too hard or not enough.”

The team’s next stop will be Nik and Kailey in Whitefish, ID for a Northwest Downhill Cup Race, and Steven Walton will be competing in the Strait Acres Slalom Race in Big Bear, CA. The following weekend August 3-8 the team will all be meeting up in Mountain Creek, NJ for round 2 of the National Downhill GRT Series.

July 13, 2021July 19, 2021

Your New US National DH Champion

KHS Pro MT rider Kailey Skelton, the 2021 US Women's National Downhill Champion.

U.S National Championships are back in action after missing the 2020 Championships all athletes were beyond excited and very eager too claim all the titles that would be happening over the weekend. Showcasing all disciplines from Downhill, Dual Slalom, Cross-country, and all professional & amateur categories. Located in Winter Park Colorado at a elevation base of 9000 feet that would be the venue for the 2021 USA National Championships!

KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton practice run at the 2021 US Nationals in Winter Park Colorado.

Kailey Skelton, Nik Nestoroff and Steven Walton would be competing in the Downhill category to try their best and claim victory and hold the national title throughout the 2021 season. The national title would consist of being the best racer on the mountain against the best American athletes. It is a very pristine title and each rider only has one shot at it each year. With that title it holds a lot of pressure to be victorious at other races like world championships and other national events that require each national champion to wear an American Stars & Stripes sleeve representing their title.

The KHS Pro MTB team arrived Tuesday evening to prepare themselves all the way for Sunday’s finals with that said Wednesday would be a day for track walk and also a day for acclimating for the high altitude in the Rocky Mountains. Not only is the base of the team pits located at 9000 feet, but the top of the downhill start was located over 12,000 feet in the pinnacle of the Colorado, Rocky Mountains.

KHS Pro MTB rider Nik Nestoroff practice run at the 2021 US Nationals in Winter Park Colorado.

Wednesday would consist of a great track walk with all the American downhill racers both male and female collaborating together to do one track walk together. It was very cool to see every competitor on the hill from all over the country join together and help each other out on the track walk. There were great vibes happening on the mountain for their first looks and glances at the track they would be competing on for the national title.

After the team’s successful track walk it would go into their first day of practice on Thursday afternoon. It consisted of a three hour practice with many riders and a long gondola lift ride to the top of the Rocky Mountain track. Practice went very well for all athletes. They were all acclimating to the high altitude and dry terrain. Steven Walton and Nik Nestoroff were coming off of the World Cup in Europe which was very muddy and quite different terrain compared to this national championship race. Also Friday consisted of another great day of practice with only a three hour session which would allow each team to focus on their athletes and adjust what needed to be adjusted to the harsh demanding terrain on their bikes and equipment.

KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton race run at the 2021 US Nationals in Winter Park Colorado.

All three athletes would be making drastic changes with their suspension tire and overall bike set up to accommodate their needs and make them feel as comfortable as possible for Saturday’s qualifying and seeding event that consists of a full-timed run from USA cycling‘s official timekeepers. Once Saturday rolled around the pressure was on for qualification and seeding. The athletes all went to work after countless days of practicing tuning, learning and focusing on their final goals of winning. It would be Kailey Skelton in the professional Downhill Women’s category who would qualify first! Nik Nestoroff would qualify 7th and Steven Walton would qualify 12th.

After qualifications all athletes would be reviewing their setups and discussing team tactics to get them on top of the podium for Sunday’s finals. Also they would be reviewing video footage and trying their best to get prepared for the final race run coming Sunday. Final adjustments would be done after qualification from the team mechanics and the riders input. Sunday morning would come quickly with high pressure on each athlete which obviously they had great expectations to do their best in their final race run. Each athlete would only get one or two practice runs to warm themselves up and make sure they were flowing for their final run.

KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton on the podium as the new 2021 US Women's National Downhill Champion in Winter Park Colorado — KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton on the podium as the new 2021 US Women’s National Downhill Champion in Winter Park Colorado

First to drop would be Steven Walton who was struggling from a little bit of altitude sickness and some arm pump, but would ultimately be able to push through the finish line with a top 15 result. Next to drop in would be Nik Nestoroff who would have a blistering run and only be a few seconds off podium position with a six place finish, an overall great run and very respected among the best.

The highlight of the weekend would be Kailey Skelton who would drop into a race run focused, determined and eager to cross the line with limited mistakes. Kailey had an amazing run from top to bottom. She did her best and would really exert herself physically and mentally to push as hard as she could. When she crossed the finish line it was huge cheers from the fans family and the announcer. Once she gained her bearings and could focus on herself from her tunnel vision race run she would hear over the announcement that she had just won her first title by 12 seconds over second place claiming the 2021 U.S national championship title.

Kailey and all the athletes, team members and team managers were beyond stoked. The entire team put effortless amounts of time and dedication into getting this title. Everyone was beyond stoked that KHS Bicycles had claimed their 2021 title with over a decade of their last title being claimed in 2011 by Logan Binggeli. After the victorious race run and podium the team would be celebrating Sunday night’s dinner and congratulating Kailey and her first national title.

Once again KHS pro MTB wants to thank all their fans, family and sponsors for countless dedication and help throughout the season. All the athletes will have a one week break until heading up to Big Sky, Montana for the big mountain Enduro series. Everyone is very excited to get up in the Montana mountains and test their skills back into stage racing with one of the biggest Enduro races of the year. We’ll see you next time between the tape!

June 22, 2021June 22, 2021

Crankworx, Austria

KHS Pro MTB rider Nik Nestoroff on his race run at the 2021 Crankworx even in Innsbruck, Austria.

Being one of the most pristine races that gathers all disciplines of mountain biking under one event was held this past weekend in Innsbruck Austria! The team would be competing against the best top riders in the world in Sunday’s Downhill Finals.

KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton on his race run at the 2021 Crankworx even in Innsbruck, Austria.

They would begin their journey with Thursday’s track walk which would be showcasing in the Austrian Alps with heavy vegetation, lots of roots and a big challenge ahead to memorize, calculate and get the best lines down to put in there one shot on Sunday to grab a solid result.

KHS Pro MTB rider Nik Nestoroff on his practice run during Friday's practice at the 2021 Crankworx even in Innsbruck, Austria — KHS Pro MTB rider Nik Nestoroff on his practice run during Friday’s practice at the 2021 Crankworx even in Innsbruck, Austria

Friday would be day one of training which would consist of a dry track with over 200 Pro Downhill men fighting to get the top spot. With ever so many people including amateur racers going down the track every day the conditions were changing drastically every run for team athletes Steven and Nik. They would continue their training and practice into Saturday which did not hold a qualifying session being a Crankworx event they do not have qualifying and everyone is able to compete in Sunday’s final race.

KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton on his practice run during Saturday practice at the 2021 Crankworx even in Innsbruck, Austria.

The athletes were really feeling up to speed and enjoying the nice weather that the venue was giving out. It was mostly sunny every day except for a few quick thunderstorms that rolled in late PM hours. These mountain areas which are known for quick rain storms only made the track conditions better and kept the dust down with so many riders on the mountain practicing day in and day out.

KHS Pro MTB rider Nik Nestoroff on his practice run during Saturday's practice at the 2021 Crankworx even in Innsbruck, Austria — KHS Pro MTB rider Nik Nestoroff on his practice run during Saturday’s practice at the 2021 Crankworx even in Innsbruck, Austria

Sunday’s finals came quick with only a couple practice runs to get up to speed and get the blood flowing before their final race run of the weekend. Both Steven and Nik we’re looking forward to the challenge and would put in their best to get the job done. Steven would have a few bobbles and wasn’t on his best form unfortunately would cross the line in 62nd place. Words from Steven “I guess I was just off the pace today. Not stoked on it but I don’t have any big excuses for my race run, I just straight up got my ass kicked today not stoked about it”

KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton on his practice run during Friday's practice at the 2021 Crankworx even in Innsbruck, Austria — KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton on his practice run during Friday’s practice at the 2021 Crankworx even in Innsbruck, Austria.

Nik would take off with a blazing run and would also fall short with a place of 49th. Needless to say this track was very short and times were very tight. Both racers are not super impressed with the results and will continue training efforts with an off week before round two of the World Cup series in France. Racing is always tough and the goal is always to win and get up on that podium. The athletes have been training super hard and will be brushing this event off and looking forward to another shot at getting that solid result! The team would like to thank everyone who has dedicated their time, effort and energy to always supporting us and giving the team the best shot at winning! See everyone in a few weeks in France!

Photos by: Sebastian Sternemann

June 14, 2021June 22, 2021

World Cup Racing Starts in Leogang, Austria

It’s the most exciting part of the year with World Cup racing beginning in Leogang, Austria! It would be Steven Walton & Nik Nestoroff who would be making the European trip to compete at the highest level of racing. They would be flying from Los Angeles, California all the way into Munich, Germany to race. A lot of pre-trip planning and documentation would go into this trip to make it as safe as possible and following the CDC guidelines. Nik and Steven would be showing up one week in advance before the first round. To dial in their KHS Downhill bikes and get their feet underneath them with time changes, jet lag, language adjustments and do some overall testing to adjust to the European Alps.

KHS Pro MTB RIder Nik Nestoroff getting in a race run at the first World Cup race of 2021 in Leogang, Austria.

They would need a place for all this testing to happen, it would be in Schladming, Austria just down the road from the actual race venue to complete some of their crucial testing and get them up to speed and rolling at top-notch levels! The KHS athletes had sunshine and a great few days of riding some of the best DH track in the world. After testing was completed and the athletes were feeling up to pace they would move onto Wednesday’s track walk which was a crucial day for nNik and Steven to get a look at the track that they were going to have to compete on Saturdays finals. The track walk weather was very good with sunshine and clear skies everyone was very excited for day one training which would be Thursday!

KHS Pro MTB RIder Nik Nestoroff getting in a practice run at the first World Cup race of 2021 in Leogang, Austria.

Thursday would be a training day only to get everyone up to speed, but with Thursday’s training day came some horrific thunderstorms that would produce over two inches of rain and would completely switch from the dry conditions that track walk had to full mud tires, tear offs and rain gear just to get down the track. It was a very tactical task just to complete a total of five runs for both Nik and Steven and accomplish line selections and overall get the track down and memorized going into Friday’s qualification day.

Friday’s qualification day would come with training and practice just before qualifying once again the rain came down that evening which would play a consistent part in keeping the track very tricky and slick. All the athletes would be on their toes and struggle to just keep the bike up off the ground. Qualification would get underway, it would definitely be a track that would be hard to keep consistent on. It was a tough day on the hill for many with some of the most talented riders not qualifying along with a massive bummer for Steven Walton who would crash midway on the track and would not qualify for Sunday’s finals. With that burden of the news there would come positivity with Nik Nestoroff making it into the finals and would be on the hunt for Sunday’s finals.

KHS Pro MTB RIder Steven Walton getting in a practice run at the first World Cup race of 2021 in Leogang, Austria.

Sunday’s finals came very quickly and the ever-changing track would be drying out and the weather in the Austrian Alps would be sunshine and blue sky‘s for the finals! With that said with the track conditions being so wet the track was becoming very blown out and you had to stay very focused on your lines with the track literally changing every run for each rider. Nik would be roughly starting at 2pm and would put massive pressure on himself to perform and do his best. Nik would have a blistering run with very minimal mistakes which was basically impossible for anyone to have a clean run on this type of track and its conditions that were presented. Nik would cross the line with the top 50 result with the best downhill athletes in the world. It was definitely a battle from the first day and goals were met and we were walking away with healthy riders going into next week’s race in Innsbruck Austria for the first round of the crankworx series.

Finish line at first World Cup race of 2021 in Leogang, Austria.

Both Steven and Nik learned a lot from this first World Cup race and would continue to better themselves going into next week’s race. I believe we achieved a lot of data and confidence getting the first round under the teams belt and will only progress from here. Once again we want to thank all our fans, family, friends and ever dedicated sponsors that provide us with all the immaculate tools to compete at this level of racing and make dreams come true. The team will be heading on a short trip to the other side of Austria to prepare themselves for the first Crankwox event of the year! Both Nik and Steven will be completing in Downhill only and will be once again on the hunt to better themselves and get that podium result the team has been working so hard for! See you next weekend for once again some of the most action packed and highest level of racing for 2021!